Dr Zhiyan Basharati is a finalist in the Young New Zealander of the Year awards. Photo / Supplied
Dr Zhiyan Basharati is a finalist in the Young New Zealander of the Year awards. Photo / Supplied
A young woman who grew up in a Kurdish refugee camp and stepped up to help her community during the Christchurch mosque attacks is a finalist in the University of Canterbury Young New Zealander of the Year.
On March 15, 2019 Dr Zhiyan Basharati was visiting her brother at Christchurch Hospital.
When she heard local mosques had been attacked, she quickly introduced herself to hospital staff and began organising translators who spoke Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Somali or Kurdish to help victims and their family members.
"I saw from the window police and armed forces surrounding the hospital. I saw after 10 minutes cars were coming into the hospital with wounded people and that's when I got the call from my sister that there was a shooting at the mosque.
"I was crying, and very worried about our friends and family whom we hadn't heard from."
Basharati immediately made herself known at the hospital's front desk, saying she was a member of the Muslim community.
She received a call shortly after asking for her help.
"I asked if they could put calls through to people in our community who speak different languages so we are getting the right information out to our community. Young people like myself who I knew spoke their native language came to the hospital."
"Our translator volunteers were up all night taking calls, and getting information from victims' families. And, we were quickly giving the right information to medical professionals and passed on the information from the police to our community."
Basharati did not get home until 5am the next morning.
She soon began an ongoing role co-ordinating the welfare centre set up at Hagley College and then setting up and becoming the operations manager for the Christchurch Victims Organising Committee (CVOC) to provide information and help to survivors and their families.
Basharati was born in a Kurdish refugee camp and came to New Zealand with her family in 2001 when she was 11.
She graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and went on to graduate with a PhD in forensic psychology in 2017.
She said her nomination as a finalist, which has come as a total surprise, is recognition of the importance of grassroots work.
"I'm not used to being recognised, it makes me feel very uncomfortable. But I do want people to know that refugees and migrants are giving back to their community and they do good work."
Fifty-one people died in the mosque attacks on March 15, 2019. Photo / NZ Herald
She said her background in psychology, her early childhood experiences, and her time working in the community, all equipped her to help people after the shootings.
"Almost every year the army would raid the camp we lived in and my dad would be captured for ransom. So when the mosque attacks happened I understood how to get through the pain to make sure I could still contribute."
While she was studying at UC, she volunteered for the Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resource Centre.
In 2013 she founded the New Zealand National Youth Refugee Council to help represent refugee voices and perspectives.
She was also chair of the Canterbury District Health Board Consumer Council and vice-chair of Christchurch City Council's Multicultural Strategy Working Party.
She currently works part-time for the Depression Support Network and for non-profit organisation Te Puna Oranga and researches refugee entrepreneurs for UC.
The other finalists for young New Zealander of the year include Brianna Fruean and Jazz Thornton, both from Auckland.
The second anniversary of the March 15 mosque attacks will be marked with a national remembrance service this Saturday.
It will begin at 3pm at the Christchurch arena and will follow this order of service:
• 'A portrait in remembrance' and reading of the names - Name readers from the bereaved families on stage with Christchurch faith leaders and first responders.
• Orchestral piece, Gabriel's Oboe, performed by Burnside High School students.
• Address on behalf of the injured - Temel Atacocugu.
• Address on behalf of other victims and the Muslim community - Faisal Sayed.
• Du'a - Imam Gamal Fouda, Masjid An Nur (Al Noor Mosque).
• Address from Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Patsy Reddy.
